Stacy Ann Kealohalani Ferreira was born and raised in Mililani and graduated from Star of the Sea High School and currently calls Kaka’ako home. Stacy enjoy spending time with her three daughters, two-year old grandson, family and friends. She is a graduate of Leeward Community College and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with a BA in Communications and an M.Ed in Education.
She began her career in education at Leeward Community College where she spent over a decade leading the campus distance education efforts. Stacy started at Kamehameha Schools (KS) in 2006 in the Extension Educational Services Division where she spent nine years serving in various roles which included Project Manager, Department Director and Division Director. In 2015, she transitioned over to Kamehameha Schools new Strategy & Innovation Division as an Executive Strategy Consultant. Her portfolio of work focused on designing and incubating KS and statewide educational innovations and building strategic community partnerships that aimed to help Native Hawaiian learners achieve greater post-secondary educational success, enabling good life and career choices. Stacy’s work efforts targeted the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship, workforce and economic development, alternative education, post-secondary success and college & career pathways.
Now serving as Budget Chief for the State of Hawai’i Senate Ways & Means Committee, her purview has broadened significantly in her statewide government role. Stacy works closely with the Ways & Means Chairman and 18 State Department Directors in shaping and formulating the state budgets for the executive branch, judiciary, and Office of Hawaiian Affairs. As Budget Chief she is charged with identifying opportunities for more prudent spending, increasing transparency, and improving operations of the State of Hawai’i. She is passionate and committed to solving for Hawai’i’s biggest challenges such as houselessness, diversification of our State’s economy, food security, climate change and disrupting the pathway to prison.